


oh what a world (and then there is you)

by SweetheartOfTheSun



Category: Teenage Bounty Hunters (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:33:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26351980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetheartOfTheSun/pseuds/SweetheartOfTheSun
Summary: She texted Sterling after a week of tossing it back and forth between her heart and her head.I think I’m ready to talk to youOkay, do you want to talk at school tomorrow or should I call?Can we talk after Fellowship? We need somewhere private, somewhere that isn’t the fun zoneThat’s how she ended up back in Sterling's car in the Willingham parking lot in the pouring rain.or April contemplates the steps it took to get back to Sterling
Relationships: April Stevens/Sterling Wesley
Comments: 9
Kudos: 261





	oh what a world (and then there is you)

**Author's Note:**

> I've never posted any of my works to AO3, but there is certainly a drought of content for these two. (thank god for the amazing fic writers out there who've been carrying us!) I wrote this for myself but I hope you all like it too!

“It had started off innocently enough, so how had I gotten here?” was April’s second thought. 

Her first thought was “Oh wow that feels good” as Sterling’s hands ghosted under her Willingham issued white collared shirt as Sterling gently nipped at her bottom lip. 

April let out a shutter. She had been so careful after the lock in. It had hurt more than anything she had ever done, but she had to let Sterling go. With her dad being back and already asking questions about the Wesley twins, April hadn’t known if she was safe. But she was a master of compartmentalization. Give a smile to daddy when he joked about his golf friends, nod earnestly when he discussed the logistics of the Death Star, and pretend to be her mortal enemy whenever Sterling was mentioned. It was going to be manageable. She could cry when she was alone in her room at night, or when she was sitting in her car after fellowship, after she had spent an entire hour sitting by Sterling pretending nothing ever happened between them, like April hadn’t broken both of their hearts. She was going to go back to being the pious ice queen, the April who was daddy’s little girl, the class president who attended the straight-straight alliance every Friday night. 

But then Sterling's Family didn’t come to church Sunday morning. Which was fine. April could brush that off. Maybe Sterling and her dad had persuaded Blair and their mom into going on a hunting trip. Then only Blair showed up Monday morning, claiming Sterling had a stomach bug. Blair looked awful, to put it mildly. Bloodshot eyes, her clothes and hair were messier than normal. She snapped at Luke in Spanish when he asked about Sterling. April knew something was wrong then. Luke and Blair usually got along well. She decided to send a quick text to Sterling despite her better judgement. 

_Sterling I know we aren’t talking right now, and that I really hurt you, but I heard Blair say you’re feeling really sick and..._

She didn’t know how to finish the message 

“Mobot!” Ellen said careening behind her. April startled and accidentally hit send on the text prematurely. 

“Sorry Ellen, just checking to see if it’s supposed to rain next weekend. Wouldn’t want our lacrosse field to be all muddy for the open house.”

“Oh, you are just the sweetest April, thank you for making sure Willingham puts its best foot forward!”. Ellen preened before walking down the hall toward the fellowship classroom. 

_I hope you’re feeling better soon_

she finished the rest of the message and quickly hit send. 

That was her first mistake.

Then Sterling showed up Monday morning looking out of focus. She gave her warm smile to passers by but it seemed forced, and manic. As soon as she thought no one was watching April saw her slump against her twin. Sterling clung next to Blair who looked equally as harrowed, snapping anyone who got too close. April kept the worry off of her face when Ezekiel pointed them out. 

“Hmm it looks like the wonder twins had a bad weekend”

“Oh yeah,” said Hannah B. “I think my uncle mentioned something about them at dinner on Sunday”

“Your uncle the Cop?” Asked Ezekiel

“Yeah he said it was a perennial child something or other” she stumbled over the word “I wasn’t paying that much attention.” 

“I don’t think that’s the word you’re looking for Hannah.” Ezekiel drawled. Hannah B. just shrugged.

“Say, April, didn’t she leave the lock in early?” Ezekiel inquired. He gave April a look that meant her knew Sterling had left early, and he knew exactly who let her out.

“Yes, and she left me to do all the cleaning up myself.” She tried to bite the words but they came out too soft.

“Well whatever, ” Ezekiel stated. He seemed to consider April for a second before turning toward Hannah B. “Darling, I think we’re going to be late to Math, would you mind running ahead and grabbing a seat for us, before the front row is taken?” 

“But they’re our assigned seats?” Hannah B. looked at him confused 

“I heard that Mr. Bailey was going to switch us around today since the quarter is over tomorrow. Go on I’ll be right behind you” He pressed. Hannah B. skipped down the hall and as soon as she was far enough away he leaned in close to April. He seemed to choose his next words carefully

“You should go talk with her. I know you two have been... mending your friendship” He then turned down the hallway to follow Hannah B. 

Ezekiel was too observant for his own good. But if April could keep his secret, he could keep hers. For however unbalanced their relationship seemed at times, she did respect her friends. So she swallowed her pride and approached Sterling after Fellowship, where she wouldn’t have Blair glaring daggers at her.

“Hey” was all she managed to get out, walking up behind the tall girl as Sterling sorted some papers Ellen had left for her.

“Hey” Sterling responded

They stared at each other for a few long seconds before Sterling broke the tension. 

“I got your message.”

“Yeah?” 

“It was a bit dramatic,” Sterling tried to joke but it fell flat “anyways, thank you”

It didn’t feel right, being thanked after all she had done to mangle the heart of the girl in front of her. She doesn’t know why she said next but she did 

“I turned Luke down.” 

“Oh?” 

“He asked me out when he came back into the Building during the lock in.”

Sterling froze, her gaze finally snapping toward April “the lock in.” She repeated 

It was then that April made her second mistake. She closed the distance between the two of them, looking around to make sure no one was left in the room. She placed her hand lightly on Sterlings arm, rubbing her thumb up and down despite herself.

“Sterl, what happened?” 

The floodgates then opened. Sterling pulled her into a tight hug and began to cry. April didn’t know what to do besides hold her back and allow her let it all out. Once Sterling’s tears had slowed and her grip loosened on April’s body, she moved them so that they were sitting on the couch. 

“Do you actually want to know?” Sterling stared straight ahead as she asked “Cause it’s like really messed up. Like not chainsaw massacre messed up, but still pretty ridiculous!” 

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t” April confessed. She sat her hand reassuringly on Sterling’s knee. Sterling took a deep breath and told her everything about that night. She cried a few more times and held on tight to April’s hand. 

After that they weren’t back to where they were before but they were becoming friends again, for the first time since fifth grade. They only spoke really between classes and after Fellowship, but at least it was something, at least April didn’t have to cut Sterling out of her life. They would complain about class, and debate, and make jokes about Ellen’s ever chipper nature. Only surface level things. Nothing like what Sterling told her on the Fellowship couch. April knew it was bad to indulge herself like this. But Sterling was starting to look healthier and happier, and to be completely honest with herself and God, April was too. She and Ezekiel never spoke a word to each other about it, but he dropped a pamphlet on her desk in Spanish class about a lgbt friendly church in Edgewood you could call if you needed support. She cried in the bathroom and texted the number. She deleted the conversation immediately after. It was a dangerous line she was towing, especially with her father home and his increased negative comments about the Wesleys. However she couldn’t bring herself to care. It went on like this for two weeks before April made her third mistake. 

To be fair it was all Ellen’s fault. She was the one who partnered the two of them together for the Open House and Info Fair. She was not upset that she was stuck with Sterling in a small info booth about Fellowship club for 8 hours, but she had to pretend to be. How else was she supposed to deflect every time Sterlings hand brushed against hers as they both reached for a leaflet to pass to a prospective freshman. How was she supposed to explain why her eyes trailed Sterlings body when she reached over the table to adjust the signs on the front. Her short skirt and long blazer combo driving April mad. As they sat their legs brushed. But with other booths and people on all sides of her what was she supposed to do? So she pushed it down and tried to pass off the heat in her cheeks as annoyance.

During their lunch break April decided that she was done with the repression and compartmentalization. God would forgive her later, even if she didn’t forgive herself. She drug Sterling to an empty supply closet, pushed her against the wall and kissed her fiercely. Sterling squeaked then melted into the kiss for a blissful 5 seconds before gently pushing April back, her hand stayed pressed into April’s chest.

“We can’t.” She sighed. Her eyes crinkled at the corners as she gave a sad smile. 

“I know” April responded but she didn’t let go of where her hands rested on Sterling's waist 

“I wanna respect your boundaries April. You were right you can’t come out, it’s not safe for you. You’re dad is too much of a threat. I’m sorry I was so pushy before. I was only thinking about how excited I was that I ignored your pleas.” The words started tumbling out of Sterling's mouth 

“I wanted to be convinced” April interrupted surprising herself 

“You we’re trying not to hurt me,” Sterling murmured 

“But I did anyway... what I did with Luke at the lock in was wrong. I’m sorry Sterl.”

“Luke is a gentle boy, you shouldn’t have messed with him or me like that, but I’m sorry I put you into the position where you felt like that was you’re only option”

“It wasn’t just you, Ster, it was me reacting poorly to my Dad.” 

Sterling looked at her then with dread. It reminded April of the expression she wore when she first came back to school. It made April waver but she pushed on. 

“I know what I said that night, and I know you said “Maybe Not”, but right now I want to be a little selfish... if you want that too.”

Sterling gave her that sad smile again and every so delicately tucked the stray hair surrounding April’s face back behind her ear. She leaned in and placed the softest of kisses to the crown of April’s head.

“I would love nothing more than that, but there is something I need to tell you first.” And for the second time that month Sterling bared her soul and all of her secrets to April Stevens. Sterling and Blair were Bounty Hunter’s and they were the reason April’s family had been torn apart.

“I don’t regret what I did. John Stevens is an awful man who deserves to be behind bars for what he did to that poor woman. But I do regret hurting you.”

Sterling worked the rest of the Info Fair alone.

April was righteously pissed at Sterling Wesley. She was pissed at her Father, at her school and state and society for putting her in this position in the first place. At first she couldn’t rationalize what Sterling had told her, it must have been a joke. But as she thought about it all the pieces clicked into place. Why her dad had asked about Sterling and Blair. Why the twins would always be hiding things in their backpacks and sneaking off after school. Why Sterling sometimes left Fellowship early even though she loved Fellowship. The way she had described how Blair and their boss Bowser had been able to find her when she was kidnapped. The way Sterling’s body felt stronger under her fingertips when she pulled her into the supply closet. The reason Sterling seemed to ask so much about her father when he was going through his trial. 

That’s the part that made her so confused and enraged. Had Sterling even cared about her at all? She though she had, but maybe she had just tried to repair her relationship with April to keep tabs on April’s dad. But that didn’t seem like Sterling. Sterling had told her as much; how much she cared for April because she was her, not because she was a pawn. She had shown April as much during the next week when she kept her distance but let April make all the decisions in Fellowship, and let April be mean without any sharp retort back, and held Blair back whenever she went into guard dog mode. 

It made her so confused. Her dad was an awful person who lied to her, cheated on her mother, who beat a woman, who would disown her or worse if he found out she was a Lesbian, but she still loved him. He was still her daddy. He still went golfing with her, and picked up her favorite ice cream flavor from the store when she had a bad day, and talked about Star Wars to her, very animated and excited. It made her heart and her head hurt to think that these two people she cared so much about lied to her. The difference she realized though is that her dad lied to her to protect himself. Sterling lies to her to protect herself and Blair and maybe even to protect April. But she had still lied and it hurt. 

She texted Sterling after a week of tossing it back and forth between her heart and her head.

_I think I’m ready to talk to you_

_K wanna talk at school tomorrow or should I call?_

_Can we talk after Fellowship? We need somewhere private, somewhere that isn’t the fun zone._

That’s how she ended up back in Sterling's car in the Willingham parking lot in the pouring rain. Her hair was slightly starting to frizz from the humidity. She hated how she worried about how it looked good or not for Sterling. She had told her dad the she was working on a school project with Ezekiel after Fellowship. Ezekiel had agreed to cover for her, provided she actually did edit his 10 page essay for him free of charge. 

“I am so very extremely, beyond angry with you” was the first thing that April said as she slid into the passenger seat of Sterling's car and shut the door. At this Sterling gave her the most ridiculously cute pout April had ever seen. It was like a puppy that had just chewed up its owners favorite pair of slippers, but a million times more pitiful and cute. “But oh does God know that I missed you so much” 

Sterling's eyes brightened as April pointed at the ceiling, her pout widened to a grin. April leaned over and tried to kiss it off of her face. It didn’t work 

“I missed you too you dork” Sterling breathed out.

“Wait, you’re angry and you missed me?” She said finally registering all of April’s words 

“I know it’s very antipathetic.” April glowered 

“You’re allowed to contradict yourself. You contain multitudes” 

“Stop trying to flirt with me, I’m mad at you! I’m mad at the world!”

“But you missed me!” Sterling taunted. April just huffed and brooded. She stared out the windshield looking at how the lights reflected off the wet pavement. “Okay why don’t you try working through exactly why you’re angry.

So she did. She explained about her dad and her conflicting feelings. About how he’s still her daddy but underneath it all it felt like a facade, and about how exhausting being at home was right then. She explained how she was still so angry Sterling had lied, but glad that she had told her instead of letting them get back together without April knowing. She told her about how she thinks she forgives Sterling. She kept going talking about how unfair all of it is. How could the world not allow them to be themselves. How come so many preached Christ’s love but practiced hate. How come April knew God would love her and yet so many people in her life told her otherwise! She was angry that her father still controlled her life even though he was so corrupt . How she had to sneak out to spend any time with Sterling, how unfair it was the Sterling had to deal with so many unfair life circumstances, and because April the two of them can’t be a proud couple. How the universe had conspired against them, not only by making them not straight in a small homophobic southern town, but by creating the perfect scenario for April’s dad to hate Sterling and Blair no matter what. 

The wall of repression and compartmentalization gleefully crumbled with each uttered phrase. Occasionally Sterling would crack a stupid joke and other times she would gently wipe a tear April hadn’t even realized she’d released. Sterling quietly sat there and held her hand over the center console until the words stopped flowing out of April. She leaned her forehead against April’s own, their hands twining together below. As April felt herself finally coming down from her rage she heard Sterling whisper something.

“What?” She said ever so eloquently her voice scratchy from crying.

Sterling's voice rumbled to life unused for the past hour “I’m so proud of you,” She repeated. 

April gave her a tight smile as she fought her tears back

“Can I kiss you?” Sterling asked. All April could do was nod her head yes.

Which is how she found herself straddling Sterling's hips in the back seat of the Volt. Sterling looked up at her with reverence as her fingers danced across the skin of April’s lower back and her lips kissed along April’s collarbone.

“Hey what’s wrong?” Sterling questioned sitting back onto her elbows. “Is this too much?” The statement echoed what April said months ago and April let out a chuckle. 

“No, it’s good! I was just thinking.” April quickly reassured the girl underneath her.

“Hmm about what?” Sterling’s thumbs rubbed soothing circles on April’s thighs where they had been re-homed when Sterling shifted her body. She brought her right one up to the spot between April’s eyebrows. “You get a little crease right here when you’re thinking too hard about something.”

April let her eyes fall closed. She reveled in the feeling of being close to someone. It felt good to be held by Sterling. April brought her face down to Sterling in a quick kiss. She pulled back only a fraction to rest her head into the crook of Sterling's neck and shoulder. 

“About you, me, and the world” she murmured into Sterling's neck. She felt the other girl shutter at that and mouthed a slight smirk. 

“Well we can talk some more if you’d like? Or...” Sterling started to pull away.

“No, I want to keep doing what we’re doing!” April stammered as she blushed.

“Me too” Sterling earnestly replied “I just want you here, and you seem distracted” she carded her hand through April’s hair, while the other continued to rub those infuriating circles on her thigh.

“I’m here,” She asserted as she pinned Sterling's body below her “I’m here and I’m just thinking about how lucky I am to be here with you”. 

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is very April focused! I didn't set out to write a fic where the girls disclose their trauma and are comforted, I just wanted to write about idiots in love making out, but angst is what this ship calls for huh


End file.
